Fstoppers Originals

There are so many ways to approach photography. We can search for artistic expression, money, Instagram fame, or any number of other things. Photographer Damari McBride believes we should all do a volunteer photo-journalistic project at least once. Let’s find out why.

The Sigma 40mm f/1.4 Art is such a ridiculous lens. Whenever I've thought about 40mm lenses I thought about the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens. I'm sure many of us have owned one of these lenses; it's actually pretty good. The tiny form factor, relatively fast autofocus speeds, and great image quality. Obviously, this lens was just too small for Sigma.

I didn't study photography in any official capacity — not unless you count a quick Google whenever there’s a term I don’t understand. So naturally, I'm biased in the argument about whether studying photography is worth it. But in my opinion, the most valuable asset to a photographer is something that cannot be searched on the internet, nor can it be taught.

So it's finally happened:Phase One and Fujifilm have collaborated to bring film simulations to the newest version of Capture One! The film simulations in Capture One work with most of Fujifilm's cameras, except those with the X-Trans I and II sensor (The XPro 1, X-T1 etc.) but why should you care and how do you do it?

What would it be like to take a year long travel sabbatical to photograph the world? When I started in November, I expected it to look like my last five years of landscape photography trips — just back to back. After just two months of being location independent, it’s fair to say I was pretty far off the mark. Here are seven lessons I’ve learned.

Raised in a small farming community in Saskatchewan, Canada, Chad Carpenter found himself far from the idea of ever being a boudoir retoucher. Boudoir in a small conservative town can be considered taboo and Carpenter never imaged he would be leaving his job in order to work as the main retoucher for his wife's boudoir company.

Nude photography is a very complex subject, one that can be viewed from thousands and thousands of points of view. The final product can range from what most would consider straight-up porn to what many would think to be fine art. But why do people on both sides of the camera do it?

The moderation of social media platforms has fallen under intense scrutiny in recent months. A recent study suggests that while some content on Instagram is removed almost as soon as it is reported, other violations are allowed to stay online indefinitely, raising difficult questions about how the company is dealing with a growing problem.

"Are you going to bring your camera?" I get asked this question any time I travel, and it creates an internal struggle every time. Chances are that I've probably already asked myself before anyone else gets the chance and fought with myself over the answer. Why does something as simple as taking my camera on a trip cause such internal strife?

The Christmas holiday brings to mind images of children in their home, opening the gifts Santa left the night before. One pictures the entire family in their pajamas sitting around the living room as wrapping paper flies and the children’s faces light up with surprise. However, for too many children, this image is replaced with the hard, cold reality of celebrating Christmas in a hospital. But The Heart Project along with Santa are out to change those images for a few lucky children.